Course Description

This course aims to develop analytical skills and mathematical modeling skills across a broad spectrum of physical phenomena, stressing analogies in behavior of a wide variety of systems. The symbolic computing language MAPLE is introduced and used throughout the course. Specific topics include exponential growth and decay, the harmonic oscillator with damping and driving forces, linear approximations of nonlinear systems, numerical analysis of nonlinear systems, coupled oscillators, and wave motion. Necessary mathematical techniques, including differential equations, exponential functions, and Fourier series, are introduced as needed. Prerequisites: 33-107 or 33-112 or 33-132, AND 21-122 or 21-118.

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Introduction

This web page will be used to post all course materials that are distributed (on paper) in class, as they are issued. The outline, problem assignments, problem solutions, and supplementary notes are in pdf (portable document format) form. To read these you need to have Adobe Acrobat installed. All the cluster computers have it; if you don't have it on your own computer, you can download it, for free, from www.adobe.com (Look under "Download Acrobat Reader"). Old exams (with solutions) are scanned jpeg images; they can be viewed and printed with a web browser such as Netscape.

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Course Outline

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Problems

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Problem Solutions

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